Madrid officials fired over deaths at Halloween party

Mayor Ana Botella on Wednesday announced the firing of two top officials with the public municipal company that manages the Madrid Arena, where four girls were crushed to death in a human stampede during a Halloween party.

The firing of the executives of Madrid Espacios y Congresos came after the "loss of confidence" in them, the mayor of the Spanish capital said.

Jose Angel Rivero and Jorge Rodrigo Dominguez were found to have concealed from Botella the existence of a pertinent document, the municipal government said in a statement, though adding that the document in question does not contain any indication of wrongdoing or misconduct.

A police report based on the images from security cameras revealed that there were far more people than the 10,000 allowed at the venue where the Halloween party was being celebrated on the morning of Nov. 1.

At a certain point, a human stampede began in one of the access passageways and three 18-year-old girls and a 17-year-old were trampled to death, while another 17-year-old girl was so seriously injured that she later died.

Relatives of the victims are asking that authorities determine who was responsible for the tragedy. EFE